Tag Archives: rain

Today’s (June 19) chores were frustrating and exhausting – hopefully, i won’t vent too much, but instead methodically record what happened and what decisions to make based on the mishaps. However, the first of the morning was spent walking in 3 Angus heifers to attach Estrotect patches in preparation for AI (artificial insemination) over the next weeks followed by spraying off 30 gallons of Surmount chemical mix on woody brush at my farm. Started about 5:30 am.

This late spring I started letting my cows graze the new seeding implemented last fall. It’s been super, super dry (until today! already 8/10s of an inch and still gently raining), so using a back fence was not important since the grass wasn’t trying to grow back after grazing because of the heat and dry.

Nevertheless, I’ve been stripping off sections of about 2 days grazing each – no where near what could be considered mob grazing, but i’ve already decided that is a practice which simply won’t work for me. I had already set up 2 temporary fences of polybraid of about 1/4 mile each. Anyone who has done this realizes that that 1/4 mile of walking turns into at least a mile by the time the poly is unrolled, then walk back to get posts, then set up posts along the poly and hook the handle into a hot (electrified) lead.

When i arrived this morning, the cows had blasted through both of them!! I was not a happy camper to say the least. Thankfully, i had brought along another 1/4 mile roll of poly braid and I pushed the cows sort of back where they belong and i unrolled this tape. The grass and weeds were tall, so it just sort of laid on top and looked like a fence the cows didn’t want to bother. Testing the lead, i found that there was no electricity. Ah ha! all the polybraids were ‘dead’ and with baby calves running around, it didn’t take long for them to run through with mommas right behind.

But why was the fence dead?

I know this tree doesn’t look very big in this photo, but it was about 18 inches in diameter where you see here. But my spinning jenny was not hit and, although, the post was pushed over a bit, it was still strongly in place.

I had spent some time at that very spot repairing some wire and gate just 24 hours before. Why did the tree not fall while i was there? Only by the grace of God. Not only that, but my spinning jenny was unharmed and the end post was still in place! Only one gate handle and the top hi-tensile wire was busted. Easily repaired that. Plus, the tree fell in such fashion that i didn’t even have to move it or cut it up. (thank goodness because i didn’t have my chainsaw on this trip). I simply repaired around it. It will have to be removed when i have time.

The daisy wheel wire tightener was the go-to some 20 years ago and still is for many. There might be 2 or 3 of these left on my farm, along with a couple Hayes tighteners. When i redesigned and built my new paddock system, i used only Gripples. They are so easy to use, remove, splice, etc. Nevertheless, because of the extra wire stored on this tightener, i had enough to splice the broken line with a Gripple. I don’t carry the proper tool for Daisy wheel in my Gator, so had to pull this pin and unwind by hand, which was a bit of challenge, but not insurmountable.

But this also is a prime illustration as to why forests, timbers, draws, need managing! Treehuggers take me to task for removing mature and junk trees. But without management, trees can become diseased, can’t compete for sunlight and nutrients so they can die and are a major hazard.

Anyway, back to my morning winding up. Once all was said and done, i’d walked at least 5 miles in tall forage, scratched through dense brush, and crawled in and out of deep ditches to retrieve all my temporary fencing and posts, finishing the morning installing a new rain gauge, checking my replacement heifers, and resetting an end post.

Dragging back to the seed plant, refueling the JD Gator and using forced air spraying out the seed heads from the grill (this must be done to keep the Gator from overheating), unloading the reels of polybraid and a bunch of posts. I forgot to take water with me and by noon (got home), i had lost 4.2 lbs. Goodness, that is 1/2 gallon of water sweated out!

This was another reminder of why mob grazing with multiple shifts per day will not fit with my schedule and quality of lifestyle. It’s just too stinking much work – i sold off the sheep to get away from so much exhausting work. With tall grass (not complaining), deep ditches, long stretches of temporary fencing, dense brush, and baby calves not trained to electric braid, there are simply too many bugaboos to make this a happy time. The mob currently has about 20 acres to relax and graze. It is what it is – i do the best i can.

Can’t believe i took this blurry photo and, worse, actually posting it here! But that is a medium sized Gripple which is used on hi-tensile electric fence. Easy on, easy off.

If, by purchasing hay, i can increase the number of employees (cows) which do not need health insurance, workman’s compensation, employee benefits, bonuses, etc and they seldom complain about the work (grazing and raising babies) they enjoy, and in so doing, also increase the soil quality by feeding microbes (making those employees happy as well), and would decrease my actual labor costs and time, wouldn’t this be a good thing?

I’m not sure!

There are many qualified experts who discourage the hay habit – and i completely agree if i had to own and operate the very expensive equipment and time needed to bale hay, which would be on my own property, thereby simply moving nutrients from one point to another and not increasing – so, am i missing a very big point?

Winter is basically 180 days in north Missouri, so if hay is the sole feed source, the amount would figure as 180 days times 30# per cow/calf pair= 5400#, allowing some ‘waste,’ and unusually harsh weather, it would be reasonable and wise to round up to 6000#. If it cost me 5 cents per pound delivered and unloaded at my farm, this is $300 per cow/calf unit for winter feed (180 days), the rest of the year would be 2 acres per cow/calf at the rate $55 per acre rent or $110 per annum. Total grass/hay feed costs total $410 per cow/calf unit. It would actually add about 12 hours of my labor to position the bales for bale grazing. So adding another $20 per cow/calf for $430

Given that info, my farm, depending on weather, could accommodate 200 pairs, figuring 2% death loss of calves to various reasons would result in 196 calves to sell. If i continue with what i can do and graze only through the winter (relying on fall rain to grow stockpile), then there are 98 calves to sell. So, to compare:

BUT, soil quality is not increased (unless mob grazing is implemented), and certainly not as fast, Compared to renting more acres, fence and water maintenance does not increase.

What is the right answer!!!!????

There is time for more reading, listening, studying, and sharpening the pencil. In the meantime, first week of April , calves will be weaned, then second vaccinations on weaned calves, by 25 April cows will begin calving for 45 days, soil sampling select paddocks, then i plan to implement UHGD (aka mob grazing).

Horribly dry here and no chance of rain in the forecast! However, it’s perfect for disk ploughing and rotatilling sod pastures so that they have ample opportunity for the grass that is turned up to die. On the four paddocks i’ve selected this is mostly toxic endophyte infected fescue and other weeds. Except for the 18 acres that i had tilled this spring and were involved in the annuals scheme, the remaining 32 acres is established pasture – pasture that has been grazed for at least 55 years. Tilling it up created quite a clatter on my rotatiller. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. There basically is no topsoil on my pastures except in the low spots along ditches. Sad – very sad.

Rainfall on 21 August 2017 – very nice and quickly absorbed by thirsty soil, but hot, dry, and often windy even until now 17 September 2017.

Settings we used for a mixed sized seed batch on our John Deere 1590SettingsSettingsSettingsSettingsJohn Deere 7220 and John Deere 1590 planting permanent pasture mix. I hope to never have to work the ground this much. I’m no farmer!Seed ordered and mixed by Welter Seed & Honey.Note the difference sized seeds which makes how to set the no-till drill tricky. At least for us; we are just learning.Dallas loading the no-till drill while Allen and Andy discuss what settings to use.

Using the 7220 John Deere tractor which has front wheel assist to pull the JD 1590 no till drill.Here is the mix i ordered from Welter Seed & Honey, Onslow, IA. Really appreciate their personal and quick discussion and advice. Mixed and shipped very quickly.

Pulled into the first sod bound pasture land (Paddock 15) with the John Deere 4250 and the Howard Rotavator on 29 August 2017. Granted, i know most recommendations are to have this seeding done and in no later than the 20th of August, but this year just wasn’t going to allow it. And thankfully, i didn’t get in earlier; had i put these seeds in slightly moist soil, they may have germinated, sprouted, then dried up in this heat and dry weather. As it is, the seeds are just resting in that super dry soil waiting for just the right conditions to grow and thrive. The concern at planting late is that there won’t be good growth before freezing weather and a long winter.

(On the 1st of September, i mustered my bulls and hauled them (Allen and Dallas helped a lot), i spent too much time outside and became overcome with ragweed allergies. This kept me sleeping and recovering in the house for two days. Andy was able to take over for me so we kept on schedule.)

16 September – RAIN! Slow and gentle, but with damaging winds. Total amount received two inches – perfect! Yah is gracious.

That’s a lot of money! and doesn’t even include the $60/acre spent earlier this year in lime spread. Hope it all pays off – i don’t want to ever have to do it again and with managed grazing, it should last many lifetimes.

Time for an update on the annuals. It’s now been 33 days since planting on the 26th of May and it’s been terribly dry until just now.

The soil had some moisture in it when i tilled the 18 acres the first go on 18-19 May, but then we received a rain (4/10s) which delayed the second tillage until 25 May, at which time my husband seeded the hills right behind the second tillage so we could wrap up this project for the first stage.

Then weather set in hot, dry, sunny, and windy. Some of the seeds germinated and some even sprouted and grew. If we didn’t get a rain soon, those brave spindly plants would soon wither and die.

At last, over the course of 14-15-16 June, we received 1.5 inches of rain and temps cooled just a little bit – a breather for plants, soil, animals, and man.

What a difference a 1.5 rain made – this was taken four days after the rain, but the soil is good here.This photo is taken immediately to the east of the previous photo and at the same moment. Growth exhibited on 20 June, four days after that 1.5 inch rain. What a difference soil quality makes!

Rainfall has been scarce until 28-29-June, when a gully washer of 7 inches fell in a bit over 24 hours. Thankfully, not much soil moved because i was careful to leave grass strips and there was still some dead plant material. Ideally, there would have been new root growth to help, but the previous dry weather compounded by my poor soil restricted growth tremendously.

Taken day after the two days of 7 inches of rain.

Thilled to see so many lespedeza seedlings.Mystery – why is one sunflower so green and healthy and this one right next to it yellow and sickly? Why did i photograph my shoe?!A very little soil movement can be seen in this photo although it is on a slight slope. Can you believe that this is 33 days growth? My clay hills are pretty dead which is the reason for trying to bring them alive by building organic matter and eliminating toxic endophyte fescue.This shows some definite soil movement after a 7 inch rain, but it didn’t move very far. Encouraging!

So, bring on the next 30 day! With that 7 inch rain and little of it running off, there should be a massive increase in forage growth. Excited!

So, is Dubai just like Missouri?! We joke in Missouri that if you don’t like the weather, just hang around a few hours and it will change – and it’s true quite a lot. One morning you’ll be running the furnace because the temps are in the teens (fahrenheit) and by afternoon, the air conditioner is coming on because it’s in the 80s!.

In Dubai this week two days ago was sunny, hot, and 98 degrees, next day was sand storm and 96 all day, and early this morning, i woke to the gentle ping of rain on the window. Not much accumulated, but the streets are flooded!

Dubai’s annual rainfall is 3.71 inches per year, with March being the second highest rainfall month of a whopping .87 of an inch (March has the most days of rain at 5) However, the past couple years, the annual has risen to nearly 5.91 inches a year. Apparently, UAE is seeding the clouds to hopefully increase the rainfall. Whether or not that is working or if this is just a natural increase we’ll never be know, though i suspect the cloud seeding enthusiasts will be claiming success!

Bright sunshine, warm temperatures, water a bit nippy, but several in swimming!Of course today of the Sightseeing tour, it is a sand storm! Eating sand and gritty eyes, but –bonus–no crowds! A bit eery –no one in the restaurant we chose, all those vendors you see in the photo, but not a single shopper. There were a few people enjoying the beach and water, however. This is at the famous Dubai Marina Walk.

Like this:

My new rubber boots arrived today and none too soon. Nearly every time i wore them this past year, my feet got wet. (which was a lot because it has rain incessantly except for Sept and October so we had absolutely NO fall regrowth for winter stockpile pastures). We are getting some Scottish weather albeit a bit colder.

The old ones are probably at least 12 years old and basically leak because they have cracked and dry rotted at the ankles where they bend. LaCrosse brand has been my go-to for 30 plus years. Hopefully, these new ones will last as long, but they do seem to be slightly less quality and a bit differently shaped in the foot. Made in China – too bad. But they fit nicely, so I am encouraged that they will live up to their historical quality.

Note how much taller the new ones are – that’s only because the heel on the old ones are just worn down! They also appear wider in the leg, but that’s just because my old ones are trained to stay open to receive my foot. Cheers! tauna

Like this:

Thankfully, we are still enjoying balmy weather with even right now at 11pm, it’s 63F! That’s at least 20 degrees above normal. And that is to continue the next couple of days, but then drop to normal. However, we are under a flood warning as considerable thunderstorms with lots of rain are expected. Gonna get muddy….

Cheers!

tauna

Interesting! check this out. We are the same temp in Laclede, MO as in Dubai UAE. Bet that doesn’t happen very often – especially in December.